Mae Dawkins's Story

Mae's eyes shot open. "FLYNN."

That word was somehow familiar to her, but she couldn't remember what it meant or why she said it. There appeared to be what looked like a pile of metal fragments in front of her, messily arranged into a bird...of some sort. It seemed to be living, or rather, animated. The presence of genuine life was uncertain. "Hello." It felt strange to talk to somebody again, even if it didn't appear sentient. It was only after the strange eye-piece it had for a head swiveled to look at her that she realized it was indeed alive. her hand tentatively reached forward and tapped the metal frame of the spyglass. The "bird" reacted to her touch, just as any living thing would. "What...are you? Well, I mean, what's your name? Do you...have one?" An unnerving feeling of familiarity was present, and it made the situation almost unbearably strange. "I'm Mae...I hope you don't turn me in. If you're some sort of government device then believe me I wont hesitate to smash you."
The introduction was awkward but somehow fitting.

The bird did not evade when it was touched though it did look at the inquiring finger.

"The nature of mankind is change. Change is the mankind of nature.", said the placid male voice from some indiscernible location near the spyglass.

The bird hopped along the ground with its wire/wrapped legs and minute glass claws to look at Mae from another angle. The body and feathers moved like they were real but the metal quality to its parts was easily betrayed by their shine if not faint squeaking of metal rubbing in its form. The spyglass bobbed and rotated sharply with birdlike scrutiny in trying to look closer.

"By the people for the people. By that which governs for that which governs. Inde autem venit malus, Mae?", the bird's quiet voice asked while standing up straight. The light glinted off its head lens and shone through its body off metal parts in its breast.

"And from thence he cometh; the wicked one..."
Mae whispered under her breath. She wasn't fluent in latin, however she could recognize some phrases. Everything the bird was saying was shrouded in metaphors and didn't quite make sense. She was very guarded, and even though it didn't seem hostile, she wasn't going to risk any confrontation. Her hand subconsciously slid to the hilt of her sword as she stood up. "What is your name, bird?"
Her breath quivered as she spoke again, and her eyes scanned the creature in every direction to locate any weapons it might have.

"What do you want? I don't have any food to give, nor money. If you're looking to arrest me or something, forget it, I could tear you apart. I don't make very good company either so if that's what you're looking for then you're wasting your time."
Mae awaited the bird's answer, hoping it wouldn't be as cryptic as the other answers it had given.

The bird fluffed his wings with a raking noise then spoke, "Call us Orphan. We like agents of change. Don't you come to see the changes?"

One wing spread toward the ruined building its edges gleaming sharply, "Change in abundance."

The sharp wings fluttered again then the wire-legs propelled the bird upward to where the wine bottle she'd been drinking remained. The wing swept over the cork that creaked and vanished. The spyglass turned back to gleam at Mae the bird's breast now bearing pocked curved tan plates like new ribs.

It smelled fairly of wine when the disembodied voice spoke again, "It's not my interest to restrict change. Just observe. Don't you look for change too?"

"Change usually does more harm than good, from my experience. But then again we are all opinionated." Mae turned and rummaged through the cupboards once more, trying her best to ignore the bird. Her hand fell upon a small leather pouch, filled with money. she quickly pocketed it and continued. She also found a first aid kit, some old rags, and a small paring knife, all of which she stuffed into her satchel. It didn't occur to her that it was somewhat suspicious that the last occupant left all their belongings here.

Mae then moved on to the drawers, emptying them of their silver cutlery and stealing everything else that could possibly be of value. Her callused fingers sifted through the contents of each drawer with surgeon-like precision, and her icy blue eyes scanned rapidly as she went. She was almost able to tune out any outside stimulation, but the bird kept distracting her. She didn't like being watched. All in an instant she stopped and turned to face the avian. "Really, what do you want?" She tried to make her soft voice sound gruff and firm. "I'm, uh, not in the mood for company...So buzz off!"
In that moment she realized company might not have been that bad to have, but she hated to contradict herself, so she stayed quiet.

A small tremor surged through the ground

Mae leapt off the floor, taking a full 360 as she tried to identify the source of the rumbling. Something was wrong, one could feel it in the very air. Her heart rate practically doubled as she quickly stuffed the rest of her things into her bag and slung it across her shoulder. In a flash her sword was unsheathed and glittering in the hazy sun. It might have looked almost ridiculous from an outside perspective, seeing her react to something so small with such adrenaline. Her breath was heavy, and she listened with anticipation for any signs of a foe.

Zephyrus moved through the Onyx Galaxy, reduced to a digital manifestation by the Voltaic key given to him by the Planeswalker. Slowly turning insane.

THE WIND IS GONE.
WHERE IS THE WIND?

Everything felt wrong. There were the stars, right there. In front of him. But he could not truly reach them, as when Zephyrus attempted to stretch his arms out they were absent. Upon observing a star, his body brought him to it instantly, wanting to touch it.

I CANNOT REACH THEM. I CANNOT REACH THE STARS.
INFORMATION REQUIRED.

He looked within his memory banks for answers. First, he appeared back in Eden. Then the planeswalker's ship.
Then Blackrock.

After the tremor took place, physical cubes of data appeared before Mae as they attempted to reconstruct Zephyrus's body. Blue light fizzled through his previously yellow eyes, and his body a silver sheen. His voiced lacked any sense of eloquence it had before, and didn't malfunction a single time. It sounded furiously robotic.

"The wind lies. The stars lie. The key lies. Show me truth."
INFORMATION RETRIEVAL, COMMENCE.

The refurbished bot twitched and glitched out of shape as it moved towards Mae, with the intention of crushing her skull with his metal hands. What horrific subroutines had a hold of Zephyrus was unknown to him, but a thought within determined that Mae would have to act fast.

Mae coughed dust out of her lungs, and it took a minute to recognize Her old friend, Zephyrus. He seemed...different. Although there wasn't much time to think about it, as he didn't seem too happy. Ophaniel was out of sight, so she didn't have to worry about him, but she vaulted over the countertop, brandishing her trench knife and kicking a table down in front of her to act as a makeshift barrier.
"Z-Zeph, is that you? What the hell is wrong with you?!?"
The metallic grinding noises coming from him grew louder with agitation, and she backed farther away from him trying to make a calculation of her next move. She didn't want to destroy him, as he was still a friend, and it would be a waste of remarkable machinery at the least. But she couldn't let him destroy her because, well, that could create its own set of problems.
"What do you want, Zephyrus? Don't you remember me? Don't you remember Kyrian and L-"
Her words stopped in her throat. What had happened to them? How did she end up back here anyway? Were her friends safe?
It was like being splashed with cold water, suddenly remembering everything that had happened up to this point. Her thoughts were interrupted by Zephyrus' shouts of anger. Her knuckles turned white and her knees locked, and she found herself unable to move from where she was standing. She hadn’t had a psychotic episode in ages, and it was just her luck to have one now.
Mae’s head rocked back and looked at the ceiling, a cackling cry escaping her dry throat. Her joints turned to rubber, and she collapsed to the ground in a trembling heap behind the overturned table. She could feel things crawling under her skin and burrowing into her bones. Her teeth ground as she tried desperately to get them out, and her nails dug deep into her skin. Then her scalp. Her shaking finders pulled at strands of hair, trying to open up the follicles enough for the bugs in her flesh to escape. Zephyrus’s mechanical face appeared above the edge of the table, and tiny versions of him began circling in front of Mae’s face, taunting her in high-pitched robotic screams. Show me truth! Show me truth! show me truth! Ariel is dead, you left her to die! show me truth! show me truth! You are broken! You have failed, show me truth! Mae stabbed wildly at the apparitions, backing up against the wall. Her hand slammed backwards, puncturing itself on a nail. That brought her out of her hysteria, and she jumped up into a defensive position, kicking the table into Zephyrus. As she went to wipe the sweat from her face, it left a swipe of blood. But caring about her appearance was the last thing she would find herself doing.